Fireplace-furnace



p 1939- N. E. BRAINIARD 2,172,356

FIREPLACE FURNACE Filed Dec. 5, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l PIE1. 1 K2 C INVENTOR.

N054: Z. BR/W/v/MD,

ATTORNEYS,

Sept. 12, 1939. N. E BRAINARD 2,172,356

FIREPLACE FURNACE I 7 Filed Dec. 5, 1956 z-sheets-sheet' 2 5/4 re 526 K5 F4 C4- F2 0 B22 3/? PIE. 5

ATTORNEY5.

Patented Sept. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 21 Claims.

The invention combines the essential elements of a furnace with those of an open fireplace in such a manner as to enable one fire do the work of both.

The object is to produce an improved heating device having these advantages: (a) The installation is readily made without digging a basement, (b) The installation requires much less floor space and costs less than a fireplace and a furnace which would be equivalent, (.0) It is more convenient than a basement furnace, and more efiicient, dependable, and clean than a fireplace, (d) It ventilates and it utilizes radiant and vagrant heat to better advantage than a furnace.

The drawings illustrate one form of the invention capable of installation in a small home having no basement, the body of the furnace being adapted for location in a heater room adjacent to the living room. The fireplace opening is adapted to extend through the living room partition and connects with the hearth and brick opening in the living room.

In the drawings Fig. l is an isometric View, with the surrounding structure cut away and shown in section, of the fireplace-furnace. Fig. 2 is a rear or heater room elevation, Fig. 3 is a central vertical sectional View. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line 4-4 on Fig. 2 and in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 5 is an enlarged View of the means to regulate the throat damper. Fig, 6 \is a view similar to Fig. 2 and of a modified form of control.

The radiator R, see Figs. 1 and 3, forms the upper part of the furnace, It may be of any desired design. Below the radiator is the compartment F, see Figs. 1 and 3, which combines the functions of fuel door box, smoke chamber, and cleanout. Below this compartment F, is the body of the furnace B, see Fig. l, which contains the combus tion chamber, fire pot and ash pit. The chimney base C, see Fig. 1, forms the outer casing. The circulating air passes through the space A, see Fig. 1, which is between the furnace and the outer casing. Similar numerals, with their appropriate letter prefixes, refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The radiator R extending above the combustion chamber, is shown symmetrically divided to form two flues RI and R2 which connect the compartment F with a smoke outlet, which radiator may be fitted with longitudinal radiating flanges or fins R4,

The compartment F is fitted with an end frame F2, see Figs. 1 and 2, upon which are mounted the fuel door F3 and check draft F4, see Fig. 2. In

the end frame F2 are the openings F5 and F5,

clean-out access to the radiator R and houses the throat damper F9; the fire door FIIJ; and the fire door hanger Fl I.

The throat damper F9 and the fire door FIB are attached to the fire door hanger Fl I, see Fig. 3, by the hinges FIZ and Fi3, respectively. This fire door, when closed, forms the back ofthe combustion chamber Bl The fire door is opened by the chain FM, which passes over the pulley Fl5 and is connected to the fuel door F3, see Fig. 3. Thus opening the fuel door lifts the fire door F Ill to a position where its heat is shielded from the fuel door opening and the smoke is deflected away from the fuel door opening.

The throat damper F9 governs the width of the throat opening B2. The throat damper is regulated by the throat damper control rod F8, which extends from its hinged connection FIB on the throat damper, through the end frame, F2 of the compartment F. The outer end of this control rod F8 is manipulated by the handle Fl'l to adjust the throat damper position. Fig. 5 shows how this control rod is held in adjusted position by the hinged catch FIB, which engages the notches Fl 9 in the control rod F8.

The combustion chamber Bl is designed to avoid smoke eddies. The firepot B3, see Figs. '1 and 3, is spaced and slotted to admit air from all sides to the fuel bed.

The grates B4, Figs. 3 and 4, are approximately level with the hearth CI, The oscillatory or rotary shaker bars of the grates are operated through the holes B5 and B6, which are located above the ash door, see Fig. 2. The hot water coil F'l enters the furnace through the opening Bl, which is also above the ash door. From this opening, the hot water coil passes inward, then upward along a back corner of the combustion chamber, then turns back through the opening F in the fire door hanger Fl I, then emerges from the furnace through the opening F5. The hot water coil is thus inconspicuous and its length is parallel to the draft, which avoids smoke eddies.

The ash pit B9 is fitted with the ash door b6x' BIB, see Figs. 1 and 3. The outer end of the ash door box is fitted with the end frame Bl I, upon which the ash door B8 is mounted.

The water pan R5 is mounted above the fuel door, with its lid R6 opening into the heater room.

Herein, see Figs. 1 and 3, there is provided a front closure or blower which slides down from the top and by selective adjustment provides means to regulate the size of the fireplace open- This front closure BIZ slides up and down in the housing Bl3, which extends across the top and down the sides of the fireplace opening. This closure is supported by the flexible cable BM,

which passes over the pulleys Bl5 and BIG, .see

Fig. 3, and thence downward to connect with thecounterweight B".

When the front closure BI2 is raised, the fireplace is opened and then counterweight Bl'l is lowered to hang in front of the fuel door F3. Wherefor, in order to open the fuel door, it is first necessary to lift the counterweight, thereby closing the fireplace front opening and preventing escape of smoke into the living room when the fuel door is opened. A similar precaution may be provided for the ash door.

This is illustrated in Fig. 6. This precaution is provided in a simple manner, such as by the blocking arm B24, one end of which is pivotally supported so that the free end extends in front of the ash door B8. This blocking arm is linked by the flexible cable B to the cable BM at a convenient point above the counterweight Bll. The pulley B26 serves to keep the linking cable B25 away from the fuel door opening.

Sufficient slack is provided'in the linking cable so that it does not lift the blocking arm and free the ash door until the counterweight BI! is raised toa position where it clears the fuel door F3. Thus, the same regulation is provided for the ash door as for the fuel door. 7

The front closure may remainin a lowered position after the fuel door and/orfiredoor is closed, thus providing means to force or check the draft, as will be described.

The check draft F4 is operated by the chain F2 l which connects it to the cable BM, so that when the front closure BI2 is lowered to completely close the fireplace opening automatically, the check draft is opened.

Other adjustments of the front closure Bl 2 pro- 7 vide complete control of the draft on the fire. This is accomplished in conjunction with the front fender Bl9, see Figs. 1 and 3, which also serves to screen the ash pit B9 from the living room. This front fender BIS is substantially an angle bar in section, one leg of the angle forming the flat top of the fender andthe other leg forming the vertical front. Suitable openings B20, through the front of the fender, supply the draft under the grates. When the lower edge of the front closure BI2 is adjusted to be level with the top of the front fender, the draft is prevented from passing above the fire and is forced through the fuel bed in the same manner as in a closed furnace.

The sliding front closure BI2 has on its lower edge a horizontal flange Bl I2 which projects toward the living room. By grasping this flange with fire tongs the front closure may be adjusted and the draft controlled from the living room side of the structure.

The front opening frame Bl8 is attached to the brickwork by the flexible metal strips B2 I, see Fig. 3, which permit expansion due to heat. These strips are bolted to the brick around the opening. The hearth apron B22, I rests upon the hearth Cl without being fastened. This construction avoids the need for a separate metal casing outside the furnace. The body of the furnace rests on a suitable footing C2.

The chimney base C forms the outer casing. Brick piers C3 and C4 are braced by the reinforced concrete slab C5, which also acts as a corbel for the brick work above it. On the heater room side, the outer casing is completed by a sheet metal face CI I, which is fitted around the fuel and ash door boxes and bolted to the angle iron frame Cl2, which frame is attached to the brick piers C3 and C4, and the concrete slab C5.

The partition Cl'l separates the heater room from the living room.

The upper portion of the furnace of which only the lower portion thereof is illustrated, is the radiator R. The compartment F; the housing F|3 for the-front closure; and the ash door box BIB also act as radiating surfaces connected to the top, sides, back, and front of the furnace body B.

Circulation of warmed air is old in the art ofheating and the method of circulating warmed air to the various rooms of the house may be by a convection current and/or impelled by a fan or blower.

The air to be warmed is delivered to the furnace in whatever manner the heating layout of the building may provide and is admitted through the base of the furnace casing by any convenient opening such as Al, seeFigs. l and 3. Preferably, the air supplied should have a suflicient volume of fresh air, drawn from outside the building, to compensate for the escape of air up the chimney. The air as it enters the space, A, between the casing and the furnace begins to rise past the heated surfaces of the furnace, and is warmed when it reaches the top from which it is distributed.

The furnace may be serviced entirely from the heater room side with no need to carry fuel, ashes, or water through the living room.

While there has been illustrated and described a preferred form of construction for carrying the invention into effect, it is capable of a wide range of variation, alteration, modification and change without departing from the spirit of the invention, and therefore the same is not to be limited to the construction herein shown and described, but all such variations, alterations, modifications, and changes are considered within the scope of the appended claims or may be construed to come within the same by involving the doctrine of equivalents.

The invention claimed is:

l. A furnace having a fireplace opening, a fuel door separate from the fireplace, opening, a means for effectively regulating or closing the fireplace opening, and means to insure that the fireplace opening be'properly closed or regulated before the fuel door is opened.

2. A furnace having a fireplace opening, a separate fuel door designed to open in a place separated from the fireplace opening by a partition, and means for regulating or closing the fire place opening, said means being operable from either or both' sides of this partition.

3. A furnace having a fireplace opening in one Wall thereof, a fuel door, in an opposite wall, a fire pot therebetween, and a movably mounted fire door between the pot and fuel door, said fire door serving as a back plate for the fireplace pot.

4. A device asdefined by claim 3, characterized by the addition of means connecting the fuel door to the fire door for conjoint movement to expose the fire pot through fuel door opening for refueling of the pot from the side opposite the fireplace opening.

5. A furnace having a fireplace opening in one side, a fuel door in another side thereof, a fire pot for said furnace, closure means for the opening movable to admit air above the fuel bed or through the same, a check draft device, and means for operating said device to open the check when the closure means is moved substantially into closed position.

6. A device as defined by claim 5, characterized by the addition of a movable fire door between the fuel door and fire pot, and means connecting said doors for conjoint operation.

7. A device as defined by claim 5, characterized by the addition of a movable fire door between the fuel door and fire pot, means connecting said doors for conjoint operation, and means for operating said closure having a portion juxtapositioned relative to one of the doors whereby door opening initially requires closure positioning in substantially closed position.

8. A furnace having a fireplace opening in one side thereof, a fire pot, a compartment rearwardly and above the same, a closure for the compartment opposite the opening constituting a fuel door for fuel replenishing, and a throat damper.

in the upper portion of the compartment movable into throat closing position for flue cleaning from the fuel door opening.

9. A device as defined by claim 8, characterized by the addition of a fire door in said compartment normally constrained toward closed position preventing refueling of the fire pot through the compartment and movable into the compartment to permit such refueling.

10. A device as defined by claim 8, characterized by the addition of a fire door in said compartment normally constrained toward closed position preventing refueling of the fire pot through the compartment and movable into the compartment to permit such refueling, said fire door being hingedly mounted adjacent its upper edge and said damper being hingedly mounted adjacent its lower edge, the hinge mounting being in immediate adjacency whereby the damper and fire door constitute the rear wall of the fireplace.

11. A device as defined by claim 8, characterized by the addition of a fire door in said compartment normally constrained toward closed position preventing refueling of the fire pot through the compartment and movable into the compartment to permit such refueling, and means connecting the fuel and fire doors together for conjoint movement.

12. A device as defined by claim 8, characterized by the addition of a fire door in said compartment normally constrained toward closed position preventing refueling of the fire pot through the compartment and movable into the compartment to permit such refueling, said fire door being hingedly mounted adjacent its upper edge and said damper being hingedly mounted adjacent its lower edge, the hinge mountings being in immediate adjacency whereby the damper and fire door constitute the rear wall of the fireplace,

and means connecting the fuel and fire doors together for conjoint movement.

13. In a furnace having a fireplace opening in one side and a fuel supply opening in the opposite side, a fire door therebetween, a damper thereabove, and a support therefor therebetween, said support and fire door comprising a smoke shelf with the damper thereabove.

14. A device as .defined by claim 13, characterized by the addition of a fuel supply door for the second mentioned opening, the throat damper when in closed fire position permitting flue cleaning through the fuel door opening.

15. A device as defined by claim 13, characterized by the addition of a fuel supply door for the second mentioned opening, the throat damper when in closed fire position permitting fiue cleaning through the fuel door opening, and means connecting the doors for conjoint operation.

16. A device as defined by claim 8, characterized by the addition of closure means for the fireplace opening, and control means for the closure means and juxtapositioned relative to the fuel door whereby closing of said closure means is an initial prerequisite to fuel door opening.

17. A device as defined by claim 8, characterized by the addition of closure means for the fireplace opening, control means for the closure means and juxtapositioned relative to the fuel door whereby closing of said closure means is an initial prerequisite to fuel door opening, and a check draft device, and means connecting said control means and draft device for opening of the latter when the closure means is moved into predetermined position.

18. A device as defined by claim 8, characterized by the addition of closure means for the fireplace opening, and control means for the closure means and juxtapositioned relative to the fuel .door whereby closing of said closure means is an initial prequisite to fuel door opening, an ash pit door for ash removal, and means controlling the opening thereof and connected to said control means for conjoint operation of both last mentioned means.

19. A device as defined by claim 8, characterized by the addition of closure means for the fireplace opening, control means for the closure means and juxtapositioned relative to the fuel door whereby closing of said closure means is an initial prerequisite to fuel door opening, a check draft device, means connecting said control means and draft device for opening of the latter when the closure means is moved into predetermined position, an ash pit door for ash removal, and means controlling the opening thereof and connected to said control means for conjoint operation of both last mentioned means.

20. A device as defined by claim 8, characterized by the addition of an ash pit door for ash removal, and means controlling the opening thereof and connected to the closure device connecting means for conjoint operation of both last mentioned means.

21. A combination furnace and fireplace having a fireplace opening exposing a combustion chamber and a fuel supply opening into the same and in another wall of said chamber, a fireplace opening closure, a fuel door for the fuel opening, a fire pot and grate arrangement in the combustion chamber and exposed by the fireplace opening and accessible through the fuel supply opening for fuel feeding purposes, a front fender structure in juxtaposition to the plane of the fireplace opening near the lower portion thereof and spaced from the front Wall of the fire pot, and means bridging this space near the upper end of the fender and in juxtaposition to the grate portion, said fender structure having an opening therethrough between its upper and lower edges, the opening terminating below the last mentioned means at the rearward end and above the lower edge of the fender at the forward end and adapted for cooperation with the front closure near the end of its closing movement for fuel control as a closed furnace with an open draft, said furnace fireplace functioning as a furnace with closed draft and closed check upon front closure approaching full closing of the fireplace opening, and a furnace with closed draft and open check when the fire place opening is completely closed.

NOBLE E. BRAJNARD. 

